Business Briefs

BioInsights Inc. of East Windsor and SciCore Academy of Hightstown announced a business alliance to develop and offer laboratory courses and workshops in the field of biotechnology. The courses will be offered to high school students, teachers and professionals, and will be held at the science laboratory of SciCore Academy.

Biotechnology is the discipline in which discoveries in the fields of genetics, molecular biology and recombinant DNA are converted into practical processes and products for medicine and agriculture.

BioInsights Inc. is a professional training company that sells services to the biotechnology industry. SciCore Academy is a private middle school and high school with a special focus on science and technology.

For more information on the Biotechnology Summer Camp, which will run July 26-30, call (609) 426-8900 or visit SciCore Academy’s Web site at www.scicore.org. The camp is tailored for high school students and teachers. For information on professional training programs, call Dr. Clifford S. Mintz, CEO of BioInsights, at (609) 426-4530. Persons interested in being placed on the mailing list for future courses and outreach should call (609) 426-8900.

Ladies Workout Express, Millstone, will celebrate its one-year anniversary with an open house June 21 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. During the open house, the women-only fitness center will offer complimentary workout sessions — featuring its 16-station circuit training, elliptical fitness trainer, and fitness coaches — NuSkin demonstrations, refreshments, and information on the training center’s UV-free sunless airbrush tanning, weight-loss program, Pilates course, sportswear and other offerings.

Ladies Workout Express is located in the Dugan’s Corner shopping center, 514 Route 33 west, Millstone, just over the Manalapan border. For more information, call (732) 446-6252.

Schoor DePalma, an engineering and consulting firm based in Manalapan, announced that R. Michael McKenna, of Freehold, has been promoted to the positions of vice president and principal at the firm.

Schoor DePalma recognized McKenna as the new principal at the company’s annual meeting held April 27 at the Patriots Theater at the Trenton War Memorial in Trenton.

McKenna has more than 30 years of site development engineering experience for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal development projects, with specific expertise in planning, analysis, budgeting, scheduling and construction oversight. He is responsible for the site plan design of The Highlands at Plaza Square in New Brunswick, a 6-acre redevelopment site that is a multi-family rental community containing 417 residential units, 9,000 square feet of retail space, a parking deck that can hold 700 cars, and small pocket parks. He also designed site plans for the Matrix Business Park at 7A in Washington Township, a mixed-use development with 4.45 million square feet of office and warehouse/distribution space.

DCH Auto Group has been awarded the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Retail Award for 25 of its auto dealerships for excellence in customer service for 2004.

This is the second consecutive year that 25 of DCH Auto Group’s dealerships have earned the award, according to Shau-wai Lam, president and CEO of DCH Auto Group.

DCH Auto Group, which has locations throughout the United States, has earned more J.D. Power and Associates Certified Retailer awards than any other auto group in the nation, according to the press release. The local dealerships receiving the award are: DCH Academy Honda, Old Bridge; DCH Freehold Nissan; DCH Kay Honda, Eatontown; Saturn of Brunswick, North Brunswick; Saturn of Eatontown; DCH Brunswick Toyota, North Brunswick; and Saturn of Freehold.

Drug Fair stores is celebrating its 50th year of operation in 2004.

The first Drug Fair store opened in 1954 in Scotch Plains, and there are now 42 stores, all of them in New Jersey. There are plans to open two new Drug Fair stores later this year, with the locations to be announced at a later date.

Community Distributors Inc. operates 42 pharmacies under the Drug Fair banner in nine counties, including the Drug Fair store in Freehold Township on Route 9 north.

Dr. A.K. Bhattacharya, M.D., F.A.C.S., a double board certified plastic surgeon in Freehold, hosted the second annual UMDNJ Alumni Cocktail Reception for alumni of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The formal event was held at Bhattacharya’s home in Freehold, where alumni and medical colleagues were introduced to the recipient of the annual A.K. Bhattacharya Award for MedicalExcellence. This year’s recipient of the award, which is presented by the A.K. Bhattacharya Foundation to an outstanding UMDNJ graduate each year, is Neeha Madhok.

Shakta Kaur Khalsa, yoga teacher-trainer and author, will conduct a "Yoga for Women" workshop, for beginners and advanced practitioners, Aug. 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sons of Norway Lodge, Boundary Road, Marlboro. The fee of $150 includes hardcover edition of Khalsa’s book "Yoga for Women." Khalsa is an IKYTA-certified (International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association) instructor. Preregistration is required.

In July, there will be programs that teach adults how to share yoga with children, from tots to teens; call for dates and fees. Also, an evening workshop based on Khalsa’s book "KISS (Keep It Simple Series) Guide to Yoga," for those who are new to the practice, will be held July 29; the fee is $60.

For reservations and further information, call Rhonda Uretzky, (732) 431-4488, or e-mail ruretzky@aol.com. For more information, visit the Web site at www.childrensyoga.com and www.shaktakhalsa.com.

Allan J. Proske, of American Ex­press Financial Advisors Inc., Freehold, has joined a select group of the company’s financial advisers who offer specialized service to affluent clients through Ameri­can Express Platinum Financial Services. Advisers are selected based on their ex­perience and success serving the affluent market, financial planning skills, quality of advice and client service, and the achievement of holding one or more pro­fessional designations.

Proske specializes in retirement plan­ning, income strategies, investment strategies and estate planning, and is a Premier Branch manager. He recently at­tended specialized training for serving af­fluent clients at American Express Fi­nancial Advisors corporate headquarters in Minneapolis.

The Lakewood BlueClaws will host Monmouth County’s Business After Hours July 13, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood. An R.S.V.P. is required by July 5. While the team is on the road, attendees will re­ceive a behind-the-scenes tour of the park, door prizes, player autographs, and appetizers. The cost for members of the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, Northern Monmouth Chamber of Com­merce, Eastern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, Greater Ocean Township Chamber of Commerce, Southern Mon­mouth Chamber of Commerce or the Monmouth-Ocean Development Council is $15 per person in advance or $20 at the door; for nonmembers the cost is $25 per person. For more information, call the lo­cal chamber office or contact Keri Conway at (732) 901-7000, ext. 115; or e-mail kconway@lakewoodblueclaws.com.

Barbara Berg, branch manager of Weichert, Realtors’ Marlboro office, will hold career seminars every Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the office, 455 Route 9 south, Manalapan. Berg will discuss the current market conditions, developing trends, the characteristics necessary to build a suc­cessful career, and how to obtain a real estate license. She will also provide in­formation on prelicensing classes offered by the Weichert Real Estate School. For reservations, call (732) 536-4400.